SBE Chapter 37 Washington, DC

What: MAARC – RadioActivity 2025
When: June 19, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Where: The Byzantine - Register Here!
Address: 2747 Riva Road
Annapolis, MD 21401 United States

The Mid-Atlantic Antique Radio Club (MAARC) presents:

RadioActivity 2025 Schedule
At The Byzantium, Annapolis MD

 
Thursday June 19
5:00 to 7:00 pm – Registration desk opens.
7:00 pm – Auction consignment ends
7:30 to 9:00 pm – Tube, ephemera, & literature auction
 
Friday June 20
7:00 am – Conference Registration Desk and Flea Market opens
9:00 to 11:00 am – Old Equipment Contest entry log-in
11:00 am to noon – Seminar: “History of Arvin” – Brian Belanger
Noon to 1:00 pm – Old Equipment Contest judging
1:30 to 2:30 pm – Seminar: “Evolution of Vacuum Tube and Circuit Design in the Early 1930’s” – Paul Hart
2:30 to 3:00 pm – Contest Viewing
3:00 to 4:00 pm – NOTE CHANGE – Seminar: “Collecting Pocket and Hand-Held Televisions” – Rod Matzko
4:00 to 6:00 pm – Contest Viewing
6:00 pm  – Social Hour
7:00 pm – Banquet begins. Banquet Speaker: John Okolowicz, “A World of Radio Cabinet Art.”
1 hour after the banquet – Old Equipment Contest Viewing (Remove all contest entries by 10:30 pm.)
 
Saturday June 21
7:00 am – Registration Desk and Flea Market re-opens
8:30 am  – Walk-around auction All vendor areas
8:30 to 11:30 am – Auction consignment check-in
9:30 to 11 am – Ed Lyon’s Radio Repair Clinic (“The Heterodyne Stage and How to Diagnose its Problems.”)
11:30 am – Auction consignment closes. All entries must be logged in
Noon – Main Auction
 
The April and May issues of Radio Age contained an insert with all the RadioActivity details and an application form. The application form also contains details regarding the Old Equipment Contest, Auction and Flea Market Policies, and local hotels. To download a copy of that insert, Click Here.
 
We are featuring something new for RadioActivity 2025. We are offering guests an informal evaluation of their vintage electronics. For more details, Click Here.
 
For the third year we will have RadioActivity vendor spaces inside, with air conditioning! Vendors may register for spaces in the parking lot ($20 for two spaces) on the covered patio ($25 for one space and table), or inside the gymnasium ($30 for space and one table). Additional tables can be rented. Only venue tables maybe used in gym and patio. One advance notice: The Byzantium does not allow food or drink in the gym at any time. The number of inside spaces is limited, so register early. Use the registration form insert in the April and May issue of Radio Age, or to download a copy of that insert, Click Here.
 
The indoor auctions feature some of the best items of the year. Our auctioneer will take the Saturday morning walkaround auction to all the vendor spaces.
 
There are several hotels within five minutes of the Byzantium venue.  See the insert for further details in identifying local hotels.
 
Old Equipment Contest Categories for RadioActivity 2025
 
1. Equipment of notable design from the 1920s
2. Equipment of notable design, 1930-1934
3. Equipment of notable design,1935-1939
4. Equipment of notable design from the 1940s
5. Equipment of notable design from the 1950s
6. Equipment of notable design from the 1960s
7. Equipment of notable design from 1970s and 1980s,
including vintage computer equipment
8. Homebrew radios
9. Farm radios from manufacturer
10. White radios (from the factory – in honor of
Paul Farmer)
11. Military radios
12. Cone speakers (in honor of Buford Chidester)
13. Lazarus restoration
14. Chairside radios
15. Open (can include “as seen in Radio Age”)

Who: Mike Pappas
From: Orban Labs
What: Why Worry About Your Air Chain?
When: July 8, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Where: Capitol Airspace Group – Register Here
Address: 6350 Walker Lane, Suite 450
Alexandria, VA 22310 United States
Sponsors: Orban Labs and Capitol Airspace Group

Over the past several years, Mike Pappas, Senior Vice President of Global Sales, Orban Labs has reviewed numerous AM and FM air chains, in large and small markets, and has found a plethora of problems. Not only do these problems negatively impact audio quality, they can also affect Nielsen PPM encodability!

Air chains inevitably degrade over time, and there are many reasons. Equipment, formats, and other conditions change. Analog to digital conversions (or digital to analog) happen. "Stuff" may have been added to the air chain over the years, and an engineer might not even be aware of its existence.